‘Elsbeth’: David Cross’ Ex-Con Takes a Toy Store Hostage in Exclusive Sneak Peek

After Season 3 premiered on Sunday, Elsbeth has one more new episode this week, and PopCulture.com has an exclusive sneak peek.

In “Doll Day Afternoon,” airing on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, “When a murder investigation at a famous New York toy store spirals into a hostage crisis, Elsbeth must negotiate with Nolan (David Cross), the hapless ex-con inside.”

“Outside, Captain Wagner clashes with a rival whose reckless tactics could turn the standoff deadly,” the logline continues. In the exclusive clip, Carrie Preston’s titular character convinces Wagner to trade herself to be the hostage in order to help an employee, even though Wagner would much rather do it himself. After Nolan has Elsbeth drop her many bags, she switches places with the employee, and that’s where it ends.

Cross is one of the many guest stars lined up for Elsbeth’s third season, which kicked off with a star-studded premiere that included Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Andy Richter, and Lindsay Mendez. Although the episode aired on Sunday, the show is going to its normal Thursday slot at 10 p.m. ET with “Doll Day Afternoon.” Already, it seems like Cross’ character isn’t a good guy, which will make the episode all the more entertaining, and there’s no telling what will go down.

Elsbeth will mark David Cross’ first television role since appearing in the fourth and final season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy in 2024. He is best known for roles in Arrested Development, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Futurama, and Kung Fu Panda. Additional credits include Teenage Euthanasia, Station Eleven, 8-Bit Christmas, Genius, Big Mouth, Goliath, Next Gen, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, among others.

Elsbeth can be unpredictable, especially three seasons in now. What Cross’ character is truly up to is unknown, but fans will want to tune in to see what happens. New episodes of Elsbeth air on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+, where all episodes of the series are currently available. The show’s guest star lineup also includes Lana Condor, Annaleigh Ashford, Julia Fox, William Jackson Harper, and Sarah Steele, just to name a few, with many more expected to be announced throughout the season.